How Epiroc reinvented its annual report and set a new standard for digital IR in Europe

Published: 2026-07-07

⏲ Read time: 3 minutes

Epiroc was recently shortlisted for Best Innovation in Shareholder Communication at the IR Impact Awards – Europe 2026 – one of the most prestigious recognitions in investor relations globally. OnlineReports founder Anna Oxenstierna sat down with Karin Larsson, Head of IR and Media at Epiroc, to talk about her bold move, and what she thinks it means for the future of financial reporting. 

But first things first, what are the IR Impact Awards?

The IR Impact Awards are annual awards that recognize global excellence in investor relations and are organized by IR Impact (formerly IR Magazine). The European edition in 2026 took place in London on June 18 at The Peninsula.

What was behind your recognition?

We’re very proud. We received two recognitions, including one for “best innovation in shareholder communication”,  which is at the heart of what we’ve been building. The nomination recognised how we rethought our entire annual reporting approach from the ground up: moving away from a traditional PDF to an online, data-connected and AI-ready format that genuinely serves modern investors.

What triggered the transformation in the first place?

When we stepped back and reviewed our annual reporting process, it was clear that it had become too complex. It was costly, highly manual and heavily reliant on external agencies. We produced a polished PDF, but behind the scenes there was significant repetition, version management and a risk of inconsistencies, especially across data, charts and languages.

At the same time, investor behavior had changed. People no longer consume information in static PDFs; they search, extract and validate data digitally.

So, we asked ourselves a simple question: does the traditional PDF format we use reflect how our stakeholders work today? The answer was no. The format itself had become the constraint. This was not about making a nicer report, it was about making a more useful one.

What did you do differently?

Instead of tweaking the existing model, we decided to fundamentally rethink the role of the annual report. It is no longer just a document but a platform and a living source of truth that must work as well for algorithms and mobile users as for institutional investors reading on desktops.

That changes what’s possible. In our team, we have the mindset that there is always a better way. This move to OnlineReports is not the finish line. It’s the online-first foundation we needed to build, which provides a space where our annual report lives on the web, always accessible and always current.

But the real change is behind the scenes. OnlineReports provides a connected data architecture in which financial and non-financial data are linked directly from source systems, without complex integrations. This means the same data automatically populates both Swedish and English versions and flows consistently across tables, charts and narrative. This removes a lot of manual work and significantly reduces risk.

What were your guiding principles in the new setup?

We shifted the focus completely. Data integrity over manual formatting, automation over repetition, and accessibility over design constraints.

For us, this was not about producing a nicer report. It was about building a structure in which the data is correct at the source and then flows consistently everywhere. That changes both efficiency and quality.

What impact has this had internally?

The impact has been tangible. We’ve saved significant working hours across the IR, finance, and sustainability teams, reduced external agency costs, and substantially lowered operational risk. But perhaps the biggest shift is in how we spend our time.

Instead of aligning formats and fixing inconsistencies, we can focus on the actual content, what we want to communicate and how clearly we do it.

And externally, what is the biggest difference for users?

The HTML-based report renders properly on any digital device and can also be downloaded as a printable PDF. An investor can view our sustainability data or financial statements on their phone during a meeting, search for a specific KPI, or share a direct link to a section.

What does the nomination mean to you in that context?

It’s a strong signal that the market is moving in this direction and that we are leading the way. Innovation in IR is no longer about design; it’s about data quality, accessibility and digital readiness. That’s exactly what we set out to address.

So, to the fun part. How was the IR awards ceremony in London?

It was a fantastic evening. The setting at The Peninsula in London was quite special and elegant, yet also very energetic. You meet peers facing similar challenges, and it really reinforces how quickly expectations on IR are changing.

Being shortlisted meant being among the six most innovative companies in Europe in IR – that alone is something we’re genuinely proud of. And the evening itself reinforced that this is not a niche conversation. Every company in that room is grappling with the same pressure: how do you serve a digital-first audience with an IR infrastructure built for print? 
     
Karin Larsson likes to mingle and learn from winners! On her left: Sam van der Zalm, head of ASML IR-team, winners of the “Best use of social media and video” and on her right Alexander Foltin, Head of Finance, Treasury & IR at Infineon, winners of “Best overall investor relations (large cap)”
Congratulations on the nomination, and thank you for working with us. It has been a privilege!